DOCSLIB.ORG

WMO SG Statement

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
WMO SG Statement STATEMENT AT THE OPENING PLENARY OF THE TWENTY-NINTH SESSION OF THE IPCC by M. Jarraud Secretary-General World Meteorological Organization (Geneva, 31 August 2008) Excellency Mr Moritz Leuenberger, Federal Councilor and Former President of the Swiss Confederation, representing the Swiss Federal Government, Mr Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Excellency Mr Laurent Moutinot, President of the State Council of the Republic and Canton of Geneva, Dr Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman of the IPCC, Mr Achim Steiner, Executive Director of UNEP, Mr Roberto Acosta, representing the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Distinguished National IPCC Representatives, Distinguished Representatives of the United Nations System and Partner Organizations, Dear Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, On behalf of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and on my own behalf, it is a pleasure to address the twenty-ninth session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was co-established in 1988 by WMO and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). At the same time, we are pleased to celebrate today the IPCC twentieth anniversary. I wish to express WMO's appreciation to the Federal Government of Switzerland and to the Republic and Canton of Geneva, through Your Excellencies, for your distinguished presence and for hosting the IPCC twenty-ninth session at this exceptional venue, thereby reiterating your vital commitment to collaborate with the efforts being undertaken by the international community to address the challenge of climate change and its impacts, and to contribute to the implementation of the necessary measures that society is demanding in urgency. WMO wishes to further acknowledge Switzerland's historic efforts to contribute to observations in weather and climate by recalling the brilliant figure of alpine scientist Horace- Bénédict de Saussure, who in the eighteenth century designed instruments and escalated the summits of the highest mountains to perform pioneering measurements of meteorological parameters. Likewise, I can mention that, between 1879 and 1896, Professor Heinrich Wild presided over WMO’s predecessor, the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), and that Dr G. Swoboda was the first WMO Secretary-General between 1951 and 1955. I would also like to thank UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for his repeated personal involvement in supporting WMO’s long-date efforts to address the climate change issue, in particular in his stressing that the challenge of climate change, and what we do about it, will define us, our era and, ultimately, our global legacy. The UN is indeed the natural forum to deal with this vital issue and the September 2007 high-level event in the UN General Assembly has reinforced his message that it is no longer business as usual. I especially wish to thank Dr Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman of the IPCC, for leading the Panel so successfully since April 2002 and for adding a number of key highlights to the IPCC accomplishments over the past twenty years. Under his direction and through the efforts of all involved, the IPCC concluded last year its Fourth Assessment Report (IPCC 4 AR), which has aroused unprecedented interest worldwide and increased awareness of the anthropogenic factor in climate change. I am also pleased to note the presence of Dr Robert Watson, who chaired the Panel successfully through its Third Assessment Report. Indeed, the present success of the IPCC could not have been achieved without the dedication of all IPCC actors who contributed their efforts over the past twenty years, in particular those who today are no longer with us. I would therefore wish to honour them gratefully, present and past, by recalling that the first IPCC Chairman and IPCC helmsman for almost ten years, Professor Emeritus Bert Bolin, passed away on 30 December 2007, a few days after the IPCC received the prestigious 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for its “ efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change ". It is almost impossible to mention the IPCC’s achievements without a special reference to Professor Bolin’s life-long commitment to the climate change issue. Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, At this propitious ceremony it is opportune to recall that, while it is widely recognized today that human activities are modifying climate at an increasingly alarming rate, such was not the case in 1976 when WMO issued the first authoritative statement on the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the potential impacts on the Earth's climate. In February 1979 WMO organized the First World Climate Conference as a result of which, only a few weeks later, the Eighth World Meteorological Congress (Geneva, May 1979) launched WMO’s World Climate Programme (WCP). The conference also led to the establishing in 1980 of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) by WMO and the International Council for Science (ICSU) and, subsequently, also with UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC). Very intensive scientific work followed, which ultimately led to the milestone Villach Conference in October 1985, organized by WMO, UNEP and ICSU, which produced a consensus statement on the probable magnitude of climate warming and its implications. Thereafter, in 1987, the Tenth World Meteorological Congress formally recognized through its Resolution 9 (Cg-X), that national and international studies had led to the conclusion that a global climate change would ensue from increases in the concentrations of greenhouse gases and that this climate change could have potentially serious consequences on society . At the same time, the Congress requested the WMO Executive Council to keep under review existing coordinating mechanisms for addressing greenhouse gases. The WMO Executive Council therefore furthered WMO’s already excellent collaboration with UNEP, which led to the co-establishing of the IPCC one year later. The IPCC First Assessment Report was released in 1990, providing guidance for the considerations and conclusions of the Second World Climate Conference, which was held in the same year, as well as for the negotiations of a climate convention, which ultimately resulted in the development of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The new conference also contributed to the establishment, in 1992, of the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) by WMO, UNEP, IOC-UNESCO and ICSU, to facilitate the availability of systematic observations needed for authoritative climate change studies. Today, after warning the global community for years about the dangers posed by anthropogenic release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, WMO is supporting the needs of climate prediction for societal benefits. To set the stage for a new era in forecasting as well as to generate the awareness of users and commitment by governments, WMO is organizing with partners the World Climate Conference-3 (WCC-3), which will be held almost exactly one year from now in Geneva, from 31 August to 4 September 2009. As decided by the Fifteenth World Meteorological Congress (Geneva, May 2007), the main theme of the WCC-3 will be “ climate prediction for decision-making ”. We are confident that it will be as successful as the two previous conferences. Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, The key IPCC 4AR messages have by now been widely publicized with the support of several nations and that of the United Nations, and they have served as the basis for an international mobilization in the domain of climate change which culminated last December at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali. WMO supports ongoing efforts in the context of the UNFCCC to achieve appropriate agreements extending beyond the Kyoto protocol and to define the relevant long-term strategies. I therefore wish to underscore the importance of the recent consensus achieved on the climate change issue at the UN General Assembly and, more recently, at the G8 Summit, while assuring you that WMO’s expertise will continue to be available. Indeed, as the specialized agency of the United Nations System with a mandate in weather, climate and water, and as IPCC co-founder and co-sponsor, WMO has been the principal provider of the scientific and technical information underpinning IPCC assessments, through the long-term and user-driven operational systems developed by the Organization and the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) of its 188 Members. Essentially all WMO programmes provide support to the IPCC assessments, while making extensive use of IPCC findings in their respective activities. The impacts of climate change are being perceived daily in a number of domains, including water resources management, food security and health. These effects are especially detrimental to development and security in the poorest countries, which are often the most vulnerable to climate change-related natural hazards and have very limited capabilities to adapt to a fast-changing environment. The Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and other vulnerable nations will be among those hit earliest and hardest, in particular in Africa. While they are clearly among those least responsible for generating the climate change issue, these countries have insufficient resources to prepare accordingly. They should therefore be
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Managing the Risks: International Level and 7 Integration Across Scales
    Managing the Risks: International Level and 7 Integration across Scales Coordinating Lead Authors: Ian Burton (Canada), O. Pauline Dube (Botswana) Lead Authors: Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum (Switzerland), Ian Davis (UK), Richard J.T. Klein (Sweden), Joanne Linnerooth-Bayer (USA), Apurva Sanghi (USA), Ferenc Toth (Austria) Review Editors: Joy Jacqueline Pereira (Malaysia), Linda Sygna (Norway) Contributing Authors: Neil Adger (UK), Thea Dickinson (Canada), Kris Ebi (USA), Md. Tarik ul Islam (Canada / Bangladesh), Clarisse Kehler Siebert (Sweden) This chapter should be cited as: Burton, I., O.P. Dube, D. Campbell-Lendrum, I. Davis, R.J.T. Klein, J. Linnerooth-Bayer, A. Sanghi, and F. Toth, 2012: Managing the risks: international level and integration across scales. In: Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation [Field, C.B., V. Barros, T.F. Stocker, D. Qin, D.J. Dokken, K.L. Ebi, M.D. Mastrandrea, K.J. Mach, G.-K. Plattner, S.K. Allen, M. Tignor, and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. A Special Report of Working Groups I and II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, and New York, NY, USA, pp. 393-435. 393 Managing the Risks: International Level and Integration across Scales Chapter 7 Table of Contents Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................396 7.1. The International Level of Risk Management..........................................................................398
    [Show full text]
  • Reprint 707 Climate Change
    Reprint 707 Climate Change - Meteorologists in Action C.Y. Lam International Conference on Climate Change, Hong Kong, China, 29-31 May 2007 CLIMATE CHANGE – METEOROLOGISTS IN ACTION LAM, Chiu Ying Hong Kong Observatory Hong Kong SAR, China Summary Meteorologists were the first group of people to sound the alarm about global climate change attributable to human beings. This paper describes a number of events in the past three decades, to illustrate how the international meteorological community under the championship of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) responded to the emerging signs of human-induced climate change, both in a rational approach to understand the phenomenon and in an active way to engage a wide spectrum of partners and stakeholders. The work of Hong Kong Observatory (HKO), as an example of the meteorological services which constitute the WMO, in studying the regional impact of global climate change and in reaching out to the community to motivate them to take actions in the face of climate change is also described. Keywords Climate change, meteorologists, WMO, meteorological services 1. Introduction The climate on Earth has always been changing, associated with various natural causes such as orbital changes, moving continents, evolving biological composition, fluctuating solar radiation output, etc. The rate of such changes would be very gradual and almost imperceptible at the time scale of decades. However, in the early 1970s, the occurrence of climatic extremes such as rain and drought persisting for months or even years led to speculations that a major climatic change might be occurring on a global scale. Much debate arose as to whether the observed phenomena were part of the “natural” short-term variability of climate or whether they were due to climate change resulting from human activities.
    [Show full text]
  • Climate Change: a Research Brief
    CLIMATE CHANGE: A RESEARCH BRIEF June 2021 Introduction The Centre of Expertise of Global Governance project named “Global Challenges in 365 Days” has come to life. This project aims at creating a database about Global Challenges, to be informed about them, know factual background, and find interesting topics for research. The following briefing provides a historical overview and scientific findings at base level on the global challenge of Climate Change. It also defines the legal grounds of this issue, and finally explores the still unanswered issues that could be of interest for further research. 1. Historical overview The scientific concern regarding the impact of human activities on global climate kept growing in intensity and information overload over the past 100 years. Climate change has always been part of the human evolution, considering ice ages and changes on the planet. Yet due to numerous factors induced by anthropogenic impacts climate changes are happening unnaturally rapid. From the historical perspective, the development of humankind and our activities are tied to our better understanding, and therefore the increasing concern about the evolution of the climate system.1 Reflecting upon climate change and its correlation with the human behaviour brought a gradual, but overwhelming amount of international apprehension from governments, organisations, and general public. The great concern was, and still is, manifested among various historical events and developments. Firstly, the effects of increasing amounts of CO2 atmospheric concentration were taken under serious consideration starting from 19582, and therefore providing, by the mid- 1970', compact and thorough scientific data analysis on the said issue3. The following timeline shows the details on how climate change became more and more important in history.
    [Show full text]
  • Ipcc), 1979-1992
    Negotiating Climates: The Politics of Climate Change and the Formation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 1979-1992 A thesis submitted to the University of Manchester for the degree of PhD in the Faculty of Life Sciences 2014 David George Hirst Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................................................. 4 Declaration ....................................................................................................................................................... 5 Copyright Statement ...................................................................................................................................... 6 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................................ 7 Key Figures in Thesis .................................................................................................................................... 8 List of Acronyms............................................................................................................................................ 10 Chapter 1 – Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 11 1. Aims of thesis .................................................................................................................................... 14 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Second World Climate Conference INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE
    --SECOND. _______, \VOI<LD CLlM.ATE CoNFEI<ENCE GENEVA- 29 OCTOBER· 7 NOVEMBER 1990 CONFERENCE STATEMENT ~SI I J'&1 ~"I tAJ{)P, ,qqo ~ Second World Climate Conference INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE GENEVA, SWITZERLAND 29 OCTOBER - 7 NOVEMBER 1990 o~ - l~~o Sponsors World Meteorological Organization (WMO) United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and its Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) Financial Supporters The Second World Climate Conference has benefited from the encouragement and support of many countries and organizations. The sponsors are pleased to acknowledge m particular the substantial financial support of: Canada, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, France, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, the European Community, the Stockholm Environment Institute and tne Environmental Defense Fund (USA) CONFERENCE STATEMENT FOREWORD The Second World Climate Conference was convened in Geneva, Switzerland, from 29 October through 7 November, 1990, under the sponsorship of the World Meteorological Organization; the United Nations Environment Programme; the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization and its Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission; the Food and Agriculture Organization; and the International Council of Scientific Unions. This Statement was adopted by the participants
    [Show full text]
  • Climate Change: the IPCC 1990 and 1992 Assessments 1
    CLIMATE CHANGE: The IPCC 1990 and 1992 Assessments CLIMATE CHANGE: The 1990 and 1992 IPCC Assessments IPCC First Assessment Report Overview and Policymaker Summaries and 1992 IPPC Supplement June. 1992 Published with the support of:* Australia Austria Canada France Germany Japan The Netherlands Norway Spain United Kingdom United States of America WMO UNEP © Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 1992 Printed in Canada Climate Change: The IPCC 1990 and 1992 Assessments 1. Climate Changes I. Title II. IPCC ISBN: 0-662-19821-2 ® Tills paper contains a minimum of 60% recyded fibres, mduding 10%posn»nsumei fibres ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Cover Photographs Top Image A composite colour image of GOES satellite using visible and infrared channels. This image was produced by the Data Integration Division, Climate Adaptation Branch, Canadian Climate Centre. Middle Image A full global disc satellite image (Channel Visible 2) for 4 September 1983 reproduced with the permission of EUMETSAT. Bottom Image A full earth disc view of cloud patterns over the Australian region on 19 February 1991 from the Japanese Geostationary Satellite (GMS4). This image is a colour enhanced composite of information from the visible and infrared channels produced by the Australian Centre for Remote Sensing of the Australian Survey and Land Information Group. *Notes Spain - Instituto Nacional de Meteorología üi TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface vü Foreword ix 1992 IPCC Supplement 1 IPCC First Assessment Report: 47 Overview 51 Policymaker Summary of Working Group I (Scientific Assessment
    [Show full text]
  • World Scientists' Warning of a Climate Emergency
    In press with Bioscience Magazine World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency William J. Ripple1*, Christopher Wolf1*, Thomas M. Newsome2, Phoebe Barnard3,4, William R. Moomaw5, xxxxx scientist signatories from xxx countries (list in supplemental file S1) 1 Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA 2 School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia 3 Conservation Biology Institute, 136 SW Washington Avenue, Suite 202, Corvallis, OR 97333, USA 4 African Climate and Development Initiative, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, 7700, South Africa. 5 The Fletcher School and Global Development and Environment Institute, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA *These authors contributed equally to the work. Scientists have a moral obligation to clearly warn humanity of any catastrophic threat and ‘tell it like it is.’ Based on this obligation and the data presented below, we herein proclaim, with more than 10,000 scientist signatories from around the world, a clear and unequivocal declaration that a climate emergency exists on planet Earth. Exactly 40 years ago, scientists from 50 nations met at the First World Climate Conference (Geneva, 1979) and agreed that alarming trends for climate change made it ―urgently necessary‖ to act. Since then, similar alarms have been made through the 1992 Rio Summit, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, the 2015 Paris Agreement, as well as scores of other global assemblies and scientists‘ explicit warnings of insufficient progress (Ripple et al. 2017). Yet greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are still rising, with increasingly damaging effects on the Earth‘s climate. An immense change of scale in endeavors to conserve our biosphere is needed to avoid untold suffering due to the climate crisis (IPCC 2018).
    [Show full text]
  • Wmo/Unep Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
    :1: Big L. WORLD CLIMATE PROGRAMME PUBLICATIONS SERIES WMO/UNEP INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT OF THE FIRST SESSION OF THE WMO/UNEP INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE (IPCC) Geneva, 9- 11 November 1988 IPCC-1 TD-No.267 I L' 4y¼ yr World Meteorological United Nations Environment Organization Programme A fr Jc.. © 1988, World Meteorological Organization NOTE The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the World Meteorological Organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authoritie-s, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ORGANIZATION OF THE SESSION ......................1 1.1 Opening of the Session ....................1 1.2 Approval of the agenda ....................3 1.3 Programme of work of the session ..........3 NATIONAL STATEMENTS ..............................3 DISCUSSION OF THE PANELS PROGRAMME OF WORK ......4 SCHEDULE OF WORK OF IPCC .........................7 THE SECOND WORLD CLIMATE CONFERENCE ..............8 FINANCIAL QUESTIONS ..............................8 ELECTION OF THE CHAIRMAN, VICE-CHAIRMAN AND RAPPORTEUR OF THE PANEL ..........................9 OTHER MATTERS ....................................g DATE AND PLACE OF THE NT SESS ION OF IPCC .......9 CLOSURE OF THE SESSION ...........................9 Annex I: List of Participants Annex II: Agenda Annex III Summaries of National and Organizational Statements Annex IV Terms of Reference for the Working Groups Annex V: Core Membership of the Working Groups Annex VI: Duties and Terms of Office of the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Rapporteur of the Panel List of Acronyms 1. ORGMIIZATION OF THE SESSION (agenda item 1) 1.1 Qpiing of the Session (agenda item 1.1) 1.1.1 The first session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was held at the Geneva International Conference Centre (CICG) from 9 to 11 November 1988.
    [Show full text]
  • Global Climate Models
    Global Climate Models Johannes Feddema Department of Geography The University of Kansas Outline Global Climate Models and Climate Change • (Some) History of climate science • What is a Model? • Basics of the climate system • Climate model components • Climate boundary conditions • Human impacts on climate • Future Climate simulations • Skeptics/deniers and models CLIMATE SCIENCE Conceptual framework for climate studies Global Climate Observing System – Early days Thermoscope Thermometer Greeks (density and energy) 11th Century Avicenna 15?? -1603 Galileo (thermoscope) 1613 – Segredo/Santorio (thermometer)? 1714 Fahrenheit (Mercury) 1742 Celsius (Centigrade Scale) 1853 1st Meteorological Conference Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermometer http://inventors.about.com/b/2004/11/16/the-history-behind-the-thermometer.htm www.nature.com http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Rapids/7592/Stevenson.jpg Milestones of the WMO 1853 First International Meteorological Conference (standardization of instruments) 1873 WMO's predecessor, the International Meteorological Organization (IMO) established 1882 Launch of the First International Polar Year 1882-1883 1932 Launch of the second International Polar Year 1932-1933 1951 WMO established as a specialized agency of the United Nations 1957 Launch of International Geophysical Year 1957-1958 Source WMO Modeling Concepts Conceptual or Descriptive models Description or understanding of general relationships Physical models Simplified physical replicas of more complex systems e.g. scale models (globe, cars, buildings, rivers etc.) from EPA/RTP WIND TUNNEL Modeling Concepts Conceptual or Descriptive models Description or understanding of general relationships Physical models Simplified physical replicas of more complex systems e.g. scale models (cars, buildings, rivers etc.) Mathematical models Deterministic – exact relationships Parameterized – generalized relationships e.g.
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of Sea Level Rise on International Law and Policy
    UCLA UCLA Journal of Environmental Law and Policy Title "Half Seas Over": The Impact of Sea Level Rise on International Law and Policy Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7vh1m95q Journal UCLA Journal of Environmental Law and Policy, 9(2) Author Menefee, Samuel Pyeatt Publication Date 1991 DOI 10.5070/L592018764 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California "Half Seas Over": The Impact of Sea Level Rise on International Law and Policy Samuel Pyeatt Menefee * "Some were quite Drunk, and some were Sober, And some were also half Seas over."' I. INTRODUCTION "Half seas over," a term traditionally reserved for the semi-drunk sailor, appears to be particularly appropriate for the uncontrolled rise in sea level predicted by many proponents of the global warm- ing theory. The term not only reflects the distortions which would occur in international law and policy "under the influence" of such a projected rise, but also, quite literally, calls to mind a picture of * J.D. Harvard Law School; LL.M. (Oceans) University of Virginia School of Law. Maury Fellow, Center for Oceans Law and Policy, and Senior Associate, Center for National Security Law, University of Virginia School of Law. Chairman, Committee on the International Law of the Sea's Subcommittee on the Law of the Sea, and Mem- ber, Committee on Marine Ecology, Maritime Law Association. Formerly, Rapporteur, International Law Association - American Branch's Committee on the EEZ, and Vice- Chairman in charge of Issues Analysis, Marine Resources Committee, American Bar Association Section on Natural Resources, Energy and Environmental Law.
    [Show full text]
  • WCRP Accomplishment Report
    THE WORLD CLIMATE RESEARCH PROGRAMME ACCOMPLISHMENT REPORT Foreword Past successes for future progress climate/Earth system research, international science-based policy assessments, such We are pleased to share with you this as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate achievement report that captures the Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report, progress made by the World Climate Research international adaptation planning and risk- Programme (WCRP)* and its Core Projects management studies, water-resources and since publication of the previous report in food-production analysis and assessments 2009. During this period, the WCRP leadership and evaluation of alternative energy and and network of affiliate researchers focused transportation planning, to name but a few. their efforts on: (a) coordinating international climate research, modelling and prediction in For the first time, these activities extend support of the priorities identified by WCRP the range of climate simulations and sponsors and stakeholders; (b) developing resulting information from centennial to a future research strategy and priorities decadal and seasonal timescales, and from in response to the rapidly emerging needs global to regional level to meet the needs of for science-based climate information for decision-makers dealing with climate-risk decision-making, in close consultation management, adaptation planning and impacts with the international science community; and vulnerabilities assessment. WCRP is also (c) participating actively in major international facilitating major efforts with its partner initiatives such as Future Earth: Research national and international organizations to for Global Sustainability (ICSU); the Global evaluate these products based on past and Framework for Climate Services (WMO) and present observational records in order to the Integrated Framework for Sustained build greater confidence in future projections.
    [Show full text]
  • A Climate Chronology Sharon S
    Landscape of Change by Jill Pelto A Climate Chronology Sharon S. Tisher, J.D. School of Economics and Honors College University of Maine http://umaine.edu/soe/faculty-and-staff/tisher Copyright © 2021 All Rights Reserved Sharon S. Tisher Foreword to A Climate Chronology Dr. Sean Birkel, Research Assistant Professor & Maine State Climatologist Climate Change Institute School of Earth and Climate Sciences University of Maine March 12, 2021 The Industrial Revolution brought unprecedented innovation, manufacturing efficiency, and human progress, ultimately shaping the energy-intensive technological world that we live in today. But for all its merits, this transformation of human economies also set the stage for looming multi-generational environmental challenges associated with pollution, energy production from fossil fuels, and the development of nuclear weapons – all on a previously unimaginable global scale. More than a century of painstaking scientific research has shown that Earth’s atmosphere and oceans are warming as a result of human activity, primarily through the combustion of fossil fuels (e.g., oil, coal, and natural gas) with the attendant atmospheric emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and other * greenhouse gases. Emissions of co-pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), toxic metals, and volatile organic compounds, also degrade air quality and cause adverse human health impacts. Warming from greenhouse-gas emissions is amplified through feedbacks associated with water vapor, snow and sea-ice
    [Show full text]